Truth be Told: 4 Ways to Avoid Burnout
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You're all in, wheels in motion and momentum at its highest ever. Suddenly, there's a grinding halt, and, just like that, you're out of juice. Uncertain about what is happening, you dig around a bit, until you uncover something that wasn't there all along. In fact, you never expected it, but, now, here you are, facing burnout.
Burnout, according to helpguide.org, is, "a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress." It goes on to state that, "As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest and motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place."
It can show up in our jobs, passions, projects, etc., and the confirmation is usually predated by feelings of extreme stress, overwhelm or confusion and may leave you feeling underwhelmed, uninterested or disconnected.
Further, burnout can introduce feelings of doubt in one's commitment to their goal; questioning of one's ability; and the feeling of being unbalanced or out of sync with self and relationships. All of which makes it necessary to be able to act, consciously, so that we can avoid that grinding halt, mentioned earlier.
... the confirmation is usually predated by feelings of extreme stress, overwhelm or confusion and may leave you feeling underwhelmed, uninterested or disconnected.
Pay attention to the signs
When the day ends, are you left with a feeling of overwhelm? How about your interest in the task at hand, ever questioned it? Just before a burnout announces its arrival, it drops hints. Hints that are subtle but evoke feelings of dissonance, within the self.
One way to achieve a state of proactivity is to work on your own self awareness. The ability to check in or intuitively pick up on your own personal shifts will assist to unveil any potential signs that show that you're approaching the threshold of burnout; beware.
Remember your why
Think of your favorite food, and without fail, you'll find yourself thinking about all the reasons why you enjoy it and how good you know it's going to be when you finally have some. Won't it be nice to have a reflex like that to help avoid burnout? Well, you do; the answer is in your why.
In visiting it, the desired outcome is to become as unshakeable, in your conviction and commitment, as possible, and one possible path to there is through reaffirming and recalling your why: why you do what you do and what makes it important? And no, it's not silly to really ask yourself these questions, and answer them. It's more a matter of, is your input in alignment with your desired outcome.
The desired outcome is to become as unshakeable, in your conviction and commitment, as possible, and one possible path to there is through reaffirming and recalling your why.
Review the plan
You do have a plan right? A plan, any plan, can provide you with stability on your journey. Having one in the first place, enables you the ability to review said plan, which serves multiple functions:
You get to see where you are.
You get to see where you're losing the most energy, time and focus.
How to adjust to the demands.
See other areas that you can divert your attention to.
The goal is to give yourself the best shot at success.
Take a break
Even the best machines have down-time for some sort of maintenance work. With humans, we're complex, in our functions, and sometimes we really just need a break. A moment to, momentarily, disconnect, can provide the rejuvenation that would allow us to refuel and get back juiced up.
The target here is to AVOID burnout, thus, preemptive action is necessary
The target here is to AVOID burnout, thus, preemptive action is necessary. Whenever you pay attention to signs, remember your why, review your plan and take breaks, it empowers you as an authority in your life and exhibits responsibility and accountability toward self-care.
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